Brickbat: Consent to Treatment

Greene County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Brianna Vanata has dropped involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges against former 911 dispatcher Leon Price, who is accused of refusing to send help to a dying woman. The charges were filed by Vanata's predecessor as district attorney. Kelly Titchenell called 911 to report that her mother was unresponsive and turning yellow. Price at first agreed to send an ambulance, but then he repeatedly told Titchenell he needed her mother's consent, even though she could not speak. He never sent an ambulance, and Titchenell's mother died the next day from internal bleeding.

Comments

[rbike]

What color are these people?

Do some reporting. Or maybe you are.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Yellow apparently.

[Jerry B.]

From the pictures I found, the family might be Native American. The 911 operator appears White.

[Fist of Etiquette]

District Attorney's Office is a joke in your town.

[Ersatz]

Hey, that dispatcher is up for bureaucrat of the year - Leon held the line on the rules for the good of the social contract as administered by those selfless, invisible worker bees. He is an exemplary employee for his devotion to the 'process'. Lets face it - without it society would fall apart and someone might die!

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

I think "worker" is working overtime to be truthful, but hey, "government union worker" is an acceptable oxymoron in the right circles anyway.

[Ersatz]

I was going to say 'drones' but I just couldn't make myself use it for our unsung heros.

[mad.casual]

I did find charging a 911 operator for a call where someone starts out yellow and unresponsive with reckless endangerment kinda humorous.

Just don’t pick up the phone. Then you don’t run the risk of criminally endangering any yellow, unconscious peoples’ lives.

3 2 felonies a day.

[TJJ2000]

Maybe [WE] can charge the people who where "sent to help" with manslaughter charges too when they don't show up for work. eh?

Yeah; the premise of such charges is just a nightmare.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

Why? His job was to dispatch emergency responders. He refused to do so, with the ridiculous excuse that an unconscious person had to give consent. How is that not an obvious dereliction of duty? Why shouldn't that be manslaughter?

If there were no government prosecutors -- if only victims and their kin/guardians/heirs could file charges -- why wouldn't the kin here be able to file charges for contributing to the death?

[Bubba Jones]

I'm curious whether he had ever done this prior, was he new to the job, what the hell was he thinking?

[TJJ2000]

You’re right. I mistakenly thought the charge was against a relative not 911 dispatch itself. I was just about to ask how it's his legal job till I re-read the article.

[Á àß äẞç ãþÇđ âÞ¢Đæ ǎB€Ðëf ảhf]

I'm gonna go a bit off-topic here and thank you for this comment. It's real easy to assume the worst from written messages, without all the facial expressions and vocal hints, even from commenters who have proven themselves sane elsewhere. Thank you for a more adult response than my knee-jerk reaction.

(On the other hand, some commenters have proven themselves completely bonkers, even when I do remember to provide adultish answers. Sometimes knee-jerk insults are all they deserve.)

[TJJ2000]

Thank you for the thank you. 🙂 UR very kind.

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

Huh, wonder why they don't need my consent to take money from my paycheck each week?

[Bubba Jones]

Just write “EXEMPT” on your W-4.

The government hates this one simple trick.

[TJJ2000]

Be sure not to run when they come to lock you up in a cell at the EOY when you don't pay those “EXEMPT”S else it just might be your own death.

[Brandybuck]

They hate it so much they will rain a world of hurt down on you.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

I want some of the meds the woman in the stock photo got.

[Brandybuck]

Dropped the charges? WTF? I guess it's vigilante justice time.

My mother went into the hospital yesterday. It's not serious, but the thought that 911 would not send an ambulance without her consent during an emergency would make me pull out one of my unregistered yet legal firearms. Thankfully her neighbor called 911 and they promptly sent an ambulance! So I won't have to murder anyone.

[Incunabulum]

Why do people keep talking about 'registered' firearms? Firearms aren't registered. Do you talk about your 'unregistered' lawn mower?

[mad.casual]

^ Get a load of Mr. Constitutional Scholar over here!

[jimc5499]

I have to wonder what the Dispatcher was told about policy? Was the Dispatcher doing what they were told when this happened?
Things like this happen all of the time. How about an ambulance service that is supposed to have a paramedic with each unit and doesn't do it to save money? Do you charge them with anything when an ambulance responds but the EMTs can't do anything because there is no paramedic? How about when a Cancer patient can't get treatment because a politician is following BS advice from a Federal Agency with a political agenda?
I'll take any and all bets that if they had to investigate this Dispatcher, they would have found that they were following policy set by politicians and that's why the charges were dropped.

[AT]

Kronk's daughter, Kelly Titchenell, said Vanata told her she did not feel she had enough evidence to win at trial.

Pretty sure that was the same thing that set the plot off in Law Abiding Citizen. Which, btw, chickened out of its own ending.

I won't spoil it for you - but go watch it.